Guenther Steiner has argued Red Bull should no longer be allowed to run two Formula 1 teams amid RB’s contentious fastest-lap attempt in the Singapore Grand Prix.
Lando Norris dominated proceedings at the Marina Bay Circuit to grow McLaren’s Constructors’ Championship lead and reduce his gap to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
However, the Briton was denied a maiden grand slam and a bonus point as RB made a late pit stop with Daniel Ricciardo, who used new tyres to attain the fastest lap.
With Ricciardo not eligible to receive the point as he languished outside the top 10, RB helping parent side Red Bull has reignited the debate over two-team ownership.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown reiterated his stance that the Red Bull model is outdated, while team boss Andrea Stella underlined that F1 is not a “coalition championship”.
READ MORE: McLaren: F1 not a ‘coalition championship’ as RB help Red Bull in Singapore GP
Steiner, who worked at Red Bull, has agreed that the FIA ought to clamp down on two entries running under the same umbrella to avoid “suspicious” incidents arising.
“This fastest lap, it was a little bit weird when it came you know,” said Steiner on the Red Flags podcast.
“I think that the issue there is that in a sport like Formula 1, no owner should have two teams.
“You never get away from the suspicion that there is team orders between teams, not in one team, between teams.
“I guess we have to respect what Red Bull did at the time, because I was involved in it when they bought Minardi, Mr. Mateschitz.
“F1 was struggling. Minardi was struggling. They would have gone away without a saviour.
“So F1 has developed a lot since them days, and for the future, maybe there needs to be a fix to this one that nobody can own two teams.
“But I think it shouldn’t be as radical as saying, ‘Oh, in the next Concorde Agreement or commercial agreement, this needs to be sorted’. No.
“What Red Bull put into F1 to make it what it is now, it’s quite amazing, so in the end, you cannot tell them what to do with their teams.
“But in the future, there needs to be thoughts about that. How can we avoid this?
“Because if Visa Cash App [RB] wasn’t owned by the same owner as Red Bull, nobody would have had the suspicion. Everybody would have said it’s the last hooray from Daniel Ricciardo.
“If, for example, the Sauber would have made the fastest lap, would anybody be worried about it? No.
“So the problem lies, in that one, that it’s owned by the same owners.”
Will Red Bull continue to be allowed to run two F1 teams
But Steiner has acknowledged that it would be too late to get such a change inscribed onto the next Concorde Agreement, which will cover the 2025 to 2030 seasons.
Instead, the ex-Haas boss has suggested that conversations on the matter should begin now to ensure that an outcome can be implemented in the next arrangement.
“Zak Brown from McLaren is very pushy on that subject,” the Italian continued.
“But I do not think they can sort it out for the next term commercial agreement, which starts in ’26.
“But the next one, that should keep the FIA busy to find an agreement with Red Bull, to say, ‘Hey, you need to let it go in the next agreement’, which is then ’31.
“But work now towards that, and not just start a year before the new agreement is signed. You need to start to talk about it now.”
READ MORE: McLaren F1 aggrieved by Red Bull fastest lap ploy in Singapore
